If you love your brand, set it free

If the run-up to the Olympics in London taught us nothing else, too much brand protection is a bad thing. It allowed brands as diverse at Nike and Paddy Power to position themselves as underdogs.

Nike’s move is particularly interesting as it is reminscent of the category judo move that Dove did in the female beauty | personal care sector a good while ago and shifts away from the star endorsement model that Nike excelled at with the likes of John McEnroe, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.

Nike’s ‘Find Your Greatness’ ad which takes aim at the Olympics on Tudou

And on YouTube

The little bit of the opening ceremony that I saw showed a number of the participants using Nikon and Apple devices which would have annoyed Olympic sponsors Samsung and Canon.